
Former Conservative cupboard minister Sir David Davis has referred to as for a retrial of convicted child serial killer nurse Lucy Letby.
He informed a Commons adjournment debate: “There was no exhausting proof in opposition to Letby, no person noticed her do something untoward.”
Sir David mentioned a lot of the proof was primarily based on a “physician’s intestine feeling… primarily based on a coincidence she was on shift for various deaths, and that is necessary, though removed from all of them, removed from all of them”.
He mentioned had believed the “tabloid narrative” about Letby’s conviction till he was contacted by medical professionals and tutorial consultants.
He alleged he had additionally been contacted in confidence by staff of the Countess of Chester Hospital the place Letby labored.
Sir David informed the Commons: “There’s case in justice, in my opinion, for a retrial. However there’s a drawback: one of many issues we face is that a lot of the proof was obtainable on the time.
“What I’ve described is an professional evaluation of the case notes, which had been there on the time, but it surely was merely not offered to the jury.
“This implies the Court docket of Enchantment can dismiss it, mainly saying the defence ought to have offered it on the preliminary trial.
“It’s in essence saying, ‘in case your defence group weren’t adequate to current this proof, exhausting luck, you keep banged-up for all times’.
“Now that could be judicially handy, but it surely’s not justice.”
‘Not acceptable to remark’
The previous Brexit Secretary claimed the case notes confirmed that “sub-optimal care” was concerned within the the instances of Child O and Child C.
He famous the docs concerned on this had been prosecution witnesses.
The MP additionally repeated doubts concerning the validity of proof supplied by professional witness Dr Dewi Evans.
Sir David claimed “misguided” statistical proof in opposition to Letby was even worse than the finally discredited information used in opposition to Cheshire solicitor Sally Clark, whose conviction for murdering her two sons was overturned in 2003.
Letby, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court docket of murdering seven infants and trying to homicide seven others, with two makes an attempt on certainly one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016 on the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones mentioned it was “an necessary precept of the rule of regulation that the Authorities doesn’t intrude with judicial selections”.
She added: “It’s not acceptable for me or the federal government to touch upon judicial processes nor the reliability of convictions or proof.”
Ms Davies-Jones later informed the Commons that Letby may apply to the Prison Circumstances Overview Fee if she believed she had been wrongly convicted.
Letby misplaced two bids final 12 months to problem her convictions on the Court docket of Enchantment – in Might final 12 months for seven murders and 7 tried murders, and in October for the tried homicide of a child lady which she was convicted of by a unique jury at a retrial.